Shoe midsole coated with adhesive fabric

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, and more particularly, to a shoe midsole in which an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated on the outer surface of a low-hardness midsole. According to the present invention, an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a low-hardness midsole so that collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole can be prevented by the adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape while improving cushioning property and flexibility by the low-hardness midsole, as well as flexibility can be maintained and abrasion resistance can be improved. In addition, an adhesion property is endowed to the adhesive fabric itself woven in a mesh shape so that the adhesive fabric can be easily coated on the outer surface of the midsole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application 10-2014-0051789, filed on Apr. 29, 2014 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, and more particularly, to such a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a low-hardness midsole so that collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole can be prevented by the adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape while improving cushioning property and flexibility by the low-hardness midsole, as well as flexibility can be maintained and abrasion resistance can be improved.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a shoe is composed of an outsole 10 that is in close contact with the ground surface, a midsole 20 that is disposed on the top of the outsole 10, an insole 30 that is disposed on the top of the midsole 20 so as to be in close contact with the sole of the foot of a wearer, and an upper 40 that is coupled to the midsole 20 so as to encircle the foot of the wearer.

Among these elements, the midsole is a member having a cushioning function to absorb a shock applied to the foot or the sole of the foot of the wearer when walking. The midsole is typically formed of a foam obtained by foaming various synthetic resins (e.g., polyurethane, EVA, etc.). If the cushioning function of the midsole is poor, a considerable amount of shock caused by the contact with the ground surface when walking is transferred to the wearer's body to induce fatigue or inconvenience and damage the wearer's joints or muscles when walking for a long time.

In other words, the cushioning function of the midsole is very important in terms of an intrinsic function of the shoe. If the midsole is configured to have a low hardness (e.g., a hardness of 25-30 or so (asker A)), its cushioning function can be improved.

However, if the hardness of the midsole is merely set to a low hardness, cushioning property and flexibility of the midsole can be satisfied, but collapse of the midsole (as used herein, the term “collapse” refers to a whole or partial compression of the midsole by a load) or formation of creases on the midsole occurs when walking for a long time by the load as well as abrasion resistance is greatly degraded.

In an effort to solve the above problem, the present invention can adopt a configuration of patent document 1.

Specifically, patent document 1 discloses that a polyethylene-based chemical fiber or a non-woven fabric 8 is coated on the underside of the midsole 4 as shown in FIG. 3.

In patent document 1, the chemical fiber or non-woven fabric was used as a cross-linker for improving an adhesion property. However, in the case where the chemical fiber or non-woven fabric is adopted to improve the cushioning property, if a fabric such as the chemical fiber or non-woven fabric is coated on the outer surface of the low-hardness midsole, collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole or poor abrasion resistance will be able to be complemented to some extent while improving the cushioning property (e.g., a hardness of 35-50 or so (asker A)).

However, if a fabric such as the chemical fiber or non-woven fabric is merely coated on the outer surface of the midsole, flexibility of the midsole can be degraded considerably by the fabric, which contributes to a reduction in the intrinsic function of the shoe in consideration of the ambulation operation of the shoes in which a folding movement is repeated.

Meanwhile, in order to solve this problem, it can be contemplated that a mesh fabric having through-holes formed therein is coated. In other words, if the mesh fabric is coated on the outer surface of the midsole, collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole or poor abrasion resistance will be able to be complemented while improving the cushioning property. Moreover, flexibility will be able to be secured by the through-hole portions (i.e., portions which are not coated on the midsole) formed in the mesh fabric.

However, the conventional method in which a general mesh fabric is coated on the outer surface of the midsole as described above entails a problem in that an adhesive should be used after necessarily subjecting the midsole to various line treatments and surface treatments, thereby leading to a complication of the process and an increase in the production cost. Furthermore, there occurs a problem in that the midsole is contaminated by the adhesive, thereby degrading the value of the product.

PRIOR ART LITERATURE [Patent Documents]

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent Laid-out Publication No. 10-2007-0105833 entitled “Manufacturing Method of Sole of A Shoe”

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a low-hardness midsole so that collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole can be prevented by the adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape while improving cushioning property and flexibility by the low-hardness midsole, as well as flexibility can be maintained and abrasion resistance can be improved.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesion property is endowed to the adhesive fabric itself woven in a mesh shape so that the adhesive fabric can be easily coated on the outer surface of the midsole even without any separate process such as line treatment, surface treatment or adhesive application to thereby improve productivity , and various patterns and colors (e.g., patterns and colors corresponding to the upper of the shoe) can be given to the midsole to thereby enhance the value of the product.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated only on a portion of a midsole, which is folded when a wearer walks and an adhesive fabric woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on the remaining portion other than the folded portion of the midsole (see Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1250409 entitled “Ornamental Fabric having Adhesion Property” or Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1240490 entitled “Fabric having Adhesion Property”) depending on the kind and the use purpose of shoes, and the type of the midsole and the outsole, thereby further improving the above-mentioned effects and the use efficiency thereof.

To achieve the above objects, in another aspect, the present invention provides a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a midsole 20.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on an outer surface of a midsole 20, and an adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on a folded portion of the midsole 20 when walking.

In this case, the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape may be a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.

In addition, the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape may be a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a TPU yarn 62 are woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.

Besides, the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape may be a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a fabric yarn 63 are woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.

Meanwhile, the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin may be formed such that a hotmelt resin 61 d is coated on the outer surface of a fabric yarn 61 c consisting of a core 61 a and a seed 61 b in an amount of 0.05-0.3 g/m, any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn may be used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them may be used as the fabric yarn 61 c, and any of a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and a polyolefin resin may be used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them may be used as the hotmelt resin 61 d.

According to the present invention, an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a low-hardness midsole so that collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole can be prevented by the adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape while improving cushioning property and flexibility by the low-hardness midsole, as well as flexibility can be maintained and abrasion resistance can be improved. In addition, an adhesion property is endowed to the adhesive fabric itself woven in a mesh shape so that the adhesive fabric can be easily coated on the outer surface of the midsole even without any separate process such as line treatment, surface treatment or adhesive application to thereby improve productivity, and various patterns and colors (e.g., patterns and colors corresponding to the upper of the shoe) can be given to the midsole to thereby enhance the value of the product. Further, an adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape is coated only on a folded portion of a midsole and an adhesive fabric woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on a portion other than the folded portion of the midsole (see Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1250409 entitled “Ornamental Fabric having Adhesion Property” or Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1240490 entitled “Fabric having Adhesion Property”) depending on the kind and the use purpose of shoes, and the type of the midsole and the outsole, thereby further improving the above-mentioned effects and the use efficiency thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are assembled and exploded perspective views illustrating a general shoe;

FIG. 3 is a partially cut perspective view illustrating a shoe sole according to patent document 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a shoe midsole according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates views of a tricot weaving method according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a yarn coated with a hotmelt resin according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a shoe midsole according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates real pictures of a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric according to an embodiment of the present invention.

EXPLANATION ON SYMBOLS

-   20: midsole -   60: adhesive fabric woven in a mesh shape -   h: through-holes -   61: yarn coated with hotmelt resin -   61 a: core -   61 b: seed -   61 c: fabric yarn -   61 d: hotmelt resin -   62: TPU yarn -   63: fabric yarn -   70: adhesive fabric woven by warp yarns and weft yarns

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention for achieving the above-mentioned effects is directed to a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric. In the meantime, in the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, illustration and explanation on the construction and operation which a person skilled in the art can easily understand will be briefly made or will be omitted to avoid redundancy. In particular, illustration and explanation on the detailed technical construction and operation of elements, which have no direct connection with the technical features of the present invention, will be omitted, and only the technical constructions directly related with the present invention will be briefly illustrated and explained.

Hereinafter, a shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shoe midsole according to the present invention is configured such that an adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a midsole 20.

The midsole 20 is a member having a cushioning function to absorb a shock applied to the foot or the sole of the foot of a wearer when walking. The present invention preferably adopts a midsole having a low hardness, for example, a hardness of 25-30 or so (asker A) in view of a cushioning function and flexibility, but is not limited thereto and the midsole may have various hardnesses in view of the kind and the use purpose of a shoe or a desired cushioning performance.

The adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on the outer surface of a midsole 20 in order to prevent collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole 20 while maintaining flexibility and improve abrasion resistance. A yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is woven to form through-holes h (see FIGS. 4 and 5) in a tricot weaving fashion as shown in FIG. 6(a) or 6(a′), or a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a TPU yarn 62 are woven to form through-holes h in a tricot weaving fashion as shown in FIG. 6(b) or 6(b′). Alternatively, a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a fabric yarn 63 are woven to form through-holes h in a tricot weaving fashion as shown in FIG. 6(c) or 6(c′).

Herein, the “tricot” is a knitted fabric made by a knitting process. In the knitting process, tricot weaving fashion is a weaving method corresponding to a warp knitting method in which a texture is formed in a warp direction, i.e., a vertical direction and is well known in the art.

In other words, the weaving form, method and device of the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape using a tricot weaving fashion are already known in various manners in the art as described above. Furthermore, because the adhesive fabric 60 varies greatly depending on the size or applicable field or design of the through-holes h which it is desired to implement, the weaving form, method and device thereof are particularly not limited, but all the weaving forms, methods and devices, which are already well-known in the art, may be applied to the present invention. However, as one example, a chain type tricot weaving fashion is applied to the present invention as shown in FIG. 6.

In the meantime, the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin endows an adhesion property to the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape. As shown in FIG. 7, a hotmelt resin 61 d is coated on the outer surface of a fabric yarn 61 c consisting of a core 61 a and a seed 61 b in an amount of 0.05-0.3 g/m. If the coating amount of the hotmelt resin 61 d is less than 0.05 g/m, the adhesion property will be degraded. On the contrary, if the coating amount of the hotmelt resin 61 d exceeds 0.3 g/m, a defect will occur when the adhesive fabric 60 is woven in the form of a mesh fabric due to a large amount of the hotmelt resin 61 d.

In this case, any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn may be used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them may be used as the fabric yarn 61 c included in the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin, and any of a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and a polyolefin resin may be used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them may be used as the hotmelt resin 61 d.

Herein, the hotmelt resin 61 d can be coated on the fabric yarn 61 c irrespective of the kind of the fabric yarn 61 c. However, if the fabric yarn 61 c is the polyester yarn, the polyester resin or the polyurethane resin is preferably coated thereon in view of a fusion property between the fabric yarn 61 c and the hotmelt resin 61 d. If the fabric yarn 61 c is the nylon yarn, the acrylic resin or the polyimide resin is preferably coated thereon. If the fabric yarn 61 c is the cotton yarn, the ethylene vinyl acetate resin or the polyolefin resin is preferably coated thereon.

Meanwhile, the TPU yarn refers to a yarn produced by extruding a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) resin, which is a sort of yarn that is already known in the art.

In addition, any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn may be used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them may be used as a fabric yarn 63 woven together with the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin in the tricot weaving fashion.

In other words, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 9, the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on the outer surface of a low-hardness midsole 20 so that collapse of or formation of creases on the midsole can be prevented by the adhesive fabric 60 while improving cushioning property and flexibility by the low-hardness midsole 20, as well as flexibility can be maintained by the through-holes h (i.e., portions which are not coated on the midsole 20) formed in the adhesive fabric 6 and abrasion resistance can be improved.

Further, an adhesion property is endowed to the adhesive fabric 60 itself woven in a mesh shape so that the adhesive fabric can be easily coated on the outer surface of the midsole 20 even without any separate process such as line treatment, surface treatment or adhesive application to thereby improve productivity, and various patterns and colors (e.g., patterns and colors corresponding to the upper of the shoe) can be given to the midsole 20 to thereby enhance the value of the product.

Meanwhile, the shoe midsole according to another embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that an adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on the outer surface of the midsole 20 as shown in FIG. 9, or the adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on the outer surface of the midsole 20 in such a manner that the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated only on a folded portion of the midsole 20 when a wearer walks as shown in FIG. 8.

Herein, the adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns may adopt the fabric disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1250409 entitled “Ornamental Fabric having Adhesion Property” or Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1240490 entitled “Fabric having Adhesion Property”, of which application had been previously filed by the applicant and was registered.

Thus, according to the present invention, the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated only on a portion of the midsole 20, which is folded when an wearer walks and the adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on the remaining portion other than the folded portion of the midsole depending on the kind and the use purpose of shoes, and the type of the midsole and the outsole, thereby further improving the above-mentioned effects and the use efficiency thereof.

In the meantime, because the “folded portion” varies greatly depending on the kind and the use purpose of shoes, and the type of the midsole and the outsole, it is not limited to a specific portion.

As described above, while the shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric according to the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with specific exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention within the technical spirit and scope of the present invention defined in the claims. 

1. A shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on an outer surface of a midsole
 20. 2. The shoe midsole according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.
 3. The shoe midsole according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a TPU yarn 62 are woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.
 4. The shoe midsole according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is a mesh fabric in which a yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin and a fabric yarn 63 are woven to form through-holes (h) in a tricot weaving fashion.
 5. The shoe midsole according to claim 2, wherein the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is formed such that a hotmelt resin 61 d is coated on the outer surface of a fabric yarn 61 c consisting of a core 61 a and a seed 61 b in an amount of 0.05-0.3 g/m, wherein any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the fabric yarn 61 c, and wherein any of a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and a polyolefin resin is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the hotmelt resin 61 d.
 6. A shoe midsole coated with an adhesive fabric, in which an adhesive fabric 70 woven by warp yarns and weft yarns is coated on an outer surface of a midsole 20, and an adhesive fabric 60 woven in a mesh shape is coated on a folded portion of the midsole 20 when walking.
 7. The shoe midsole according to claim 3, wherein the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is formed such that a hotmelt resin 61 d is coated on the outer surface of a fabric yarn 61 c consisting of a core 61 a and a seed 61 b in an amount of 0.05-0.3 g/m, wherein any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the fabric yarn 61 c, and wherein any of a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and a polyolefin resin is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the hotmelt resin 61 d.
 8. The shoe midsole according to claim 4, wherein the yarn 61 coated with a hotmelt resin is formed such that a hotmelt resin 61 d is coated on the outer surface of a fabric yarn 61 c consisting of a core 61 a and a seed 61 b in an amount of 0.05-0.3 g/m, wherein any of a polyester yarn, a nylon yarn, and a cotton yarn is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the fabric yarn 61 c, and wherein any of a polyester resin, a polyurethane resin, an acrylic resin, a polyimide resin, an ethylene vinyl acetate resin, and a polyolefin resin is used alone or a combination of two or more kinds of them is used as the hotmelt resin 61 d. 